Wish Upon a Star
by Drarry-in-the-TARDIS
Summary: Neji remembers his time with Naruto. NejiNaru. Warnings inside.


**Warnings: NejiNaru, deathfic**. **Has some lemon in one part. Veers away from canon. One-shot**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

**EDITED: 01/03/2015 Reviewed spelling and grammar**

They always called him a monster. He never knew the reason and when he asked his elders, they would tell him to mind his own business and to _'stay away from that monster'_. He would always see him at the park when his mother brought him to play with the other children, children other than _him_. No, he was never allowed to talk to him or even glance at the blonde haired boy.

Neji was always curious about him. After all, what 7-year-old wouldn't be curious about something that was strictly forbidden?

"Neji! It's time for dinner, hurry up!" His mother yelled from the gates of the park.

He took one last quick look at the blonde sitting on the bench alone before breaking out in a run, as fast as his tiny legs could take him.

"You didn't talk to him did you? You know you must stay away from him Neji, You're smart enough to know that" His mother abolished.

"No mother, he was just sitting there, I promise I didn't talk to him"

Neji and his mum had caught up with the other parents that had arrived to pick up their children. He made sure to listen very closely to what they were talking about regarding the mysterious boy who was always there.

"Honestly, I don't understand what the Sandaime was thinking! He's a threat to our children, shouldn't he be away from the village?" One of the mother's scoffed.

"Keep your voice down, we aren't meant to talk about it"

Neji was even more curious. He wanted to know who this boy was. Why was he hated so much? And why did he want to know so much about the blonde enigma? His 7 year old brain couldn't figure this out, so he decided to forget about meeting the blonde and chose to observe from far.

* * *

><p>Neji continued his training to become a ninja in between his trips to the park. He excelled in all areas of his training. Though he still couldn't do some techniques, he was able to hit his targets on the mark and even managed to catch his father off guard. His family was proud to call him a genius and he knew it wouldn't be long before he would be allowed to join the academy along with some of his older friends from the park. He was very excited about this and all thoughts of the lonely boy had been forgotten for a while, till he went back to the park.<p>

There were days where the boy wasn't at the park which had greatly upset Neji. He heard from his friends how the boy had apparently painted the Hokage monuments and was being punished by having to clean it up.

"He's such a troublemaker!" Ino yelled, flailing her arms

"Maybe that's why the village hates him" Kiba added while swinging upside down from the bars.

"My mum said he was a monster but he doesn't look like one... Aren't monsters meant to be scary?" Choji asked as he continued munching on a snack packed by his parents.

Neji sat quietly, observing the younger kids- though he was older only by a year. He never spoke when the conversation was about the boy. He prefered to gain knowledge and piece the puzzle together himself. His father had taught him that being a ninja wasn't always about fighting but using your brain too. _'Getting information about the enemy can change the outcome of a war'_ was his fathers exacts words.

"I heard the boy lived alone because he was dangerous," Sakura announced.

"How do you know Forehead? Did you follow him?!" Ino teased and leaped back when Sakura tried to push her.

"No! Ino-Pig! I heard one of the elders talking. He lives far from here, I think it's where we were told never to go. Maybe he and his family turn into a monster at night!" She squeaked out the last part in fear.

"Let's just go, this is getting boring anyway" Shikamaru announced when he saw their parents arrive.

Neji slightly frowned. He had gotten more information than he had since he had first seen the boy, and was upset their conversation ended so soon. Reluctantly, he walked towards his parents too.

On his way towards the Hyuuga compound, he saw what the kids meant by troublemaker. Half of the monument was covered in paint and there was the blonde, brushing the other half clean. Neji knew who the Hokage's were. He knew they were to be respected and that they were very important to the village. So it was quite a shock to him to see the monument in such a demeaning manner.

_'Maybe it's best I don't go near the boy.'_ Neji thought. He was a genius and couldn't waste time thinking about troublemakers.

* * *

><p>The day Neji started the academy was finally here. His parents were proud enough to attend the ceremony that was held for the new to-be ninja's. The Sandaime Hokage was there telling them the importance of being a ninja and how by the end of their academy years, they would have hopefully found their ninja way.<p>

Neji didn't quite understand what the Hokage meant by 'ninja way' but he assumed he could find out about it in his books and scrolls at home. It shouldn't be too hard right? He was a genius after all.

The rest of the ceremony went by with little problems and before he knew it, he was back at the park with his cousin. The boy, Neji noticed, was a loudmouth. He watched as the boy yelled and jumped around while the others shook their heads at the so deemed "monster".

"Hinata, where are you going?" Kiba asked when he saw her walk towards the boy.

Neji looked up and tensed. He couldn't let Hinata-sama near the boy since it was his duty to protect her.

"Hinata-sama-" before Neji could finish his sentence, Kiba stood up.

"You know we can't sit next to him" He said while dragging Hinata down next to him near the monkey bars.

Neji sighed from relief. His father surely would have been angry had she sat next to him.

* * *

><p>"Teme! I'm going to beat you so much, you're going to cry!" A 12-year-old Naruto yelled at Sasuke, before getting inside the circle to fight. It was another normal afternoon at the park.<p>

Neji found this was funny. The boy thought he could beat a genius like the Uchiha. He didn't necessarily like Sasuke but even he knew that Sasuke was way stronger than him.

It didn't take long before the boy was on the ground with Sasuke on top of him.

"You're such a loser!" Kiba taunted.

"Now why don't you cry to your mummy!" Sakura teased.

Neji didn't say anything but he was smirking. It was his fault for thinking he could take down an Uchiha.

The blonde boy looked like he had been slapped. He didn't understand why the boy didn't tell his parents. Surely the kid had parents he could whine and cry to.

Before long, the parents arrived and took their kids back home where warm food and love was awaiting them

Neji watched as Iruka sensei pulled the boy away from them and gave him a talk. He really wanted to hear what he was saying to the boy, but they were too far. He could tell it wasn't something mean though, as he saw the blonde smile and nod his head fiercely. Neji didn't understand why but he felt a pang of jealousy at seeing the blonde boy so carefree and close with the teacher. Where was his parents?

He shrugged off the feeling and made his way to the Hyuuga grounds. Ever since his father was killed, he didn't want to fall behind training, and all the blonde boy did was cause a ruckus and made him late to his private training lessons.

* * *

><p>It was another warm summer night when Neji decided to stop training and head home. He had been at it all day and hadn't noticed how late it was.<p>

On his way, he passed the graveyard and decided to stop and pay his respects to his father. What he hadn't counted on was seeing the blonde boy sitting at the entrance staring at the tombstones.

"What are you doing here?" He asked surprised.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. He should have just walked away.

"Ji-chan told me my parents were brave ninjas and have died. I was wondering which one these belonged to them," The blonde murmured, pointing at the several rows of stones.

"You don't know who your parents are?" Neji questioned, baffled. How could one not know their parents. Again, he wanted to slap himself for continuing the conversation.

"No." Was the simple answer given to him.

The boy turned to stare at the stars.

"They're watching over me though, I'm sure of that." He spoke again wistfully.

"Hmph," Neji grunted.

"Why are you here?"

"None of your business," Neji replied before starting to turn around, ready to walk off home. His night had been ruined by the 'monster'.

"Oh look! A shooting star!" The younger boy exclaimed, causing Neji to look at him. "I wish people stopped calling me a monster and loved me instead!"

"You're not supposed to wish out loud, it won't work now." Neji stated as he turned again and walked off.

He didn't see the dejected look the boy had on his face nor hear the whispered "No one told me that."

* * *

><p>"Naruto you idiot, why don't you quit already! Clearly you shouldn't be a Ninja!" Sakura yelled while trying to protect Sasuke from the obnoxious boy.<p>

Naruto… So that was what the boy's name was. Not that Neji cared.

"But Sakura-chan! I'm stronger than him so why don't you like me!" Naruto whined.

"Because he's much cooler than you, idiot!" The pink haired girl yelled back.

Throughout the verbal match between Sakura and Naruto, Neji focused on the Uchiha. He didn't like the way he was staring at Naruto. He had heard how they had accidentally kissed and it didn't sit right with him for some reason.

Neji left the park without a word.

Destiny. Fate. It was unchanging. Neji knew this and he knew nothing would change. He knew his place in the clan and he knew his place outside of the clan. He knew he was only a pawn. He had grown up knowing that, at any moment, he would be used as a sacrifice to keep the clan strong and out of harms way. Just like how his father had.

Not once in his life had he questioned his destiny, and not once did he fight back. He accepted all.

He would live for the clan, die for the clan and if he was lucky, marry an average woman. He didn't care about having children, why pass on his awful destiny to them? Besides, he wasn't next in line to be the head of the clan anyway. Hinata-sama was. She should be the one to worry about continuing the Hyuuga line.

It wasn't until the last Chuunin exam where he was pummeled to the ground by Naruto did he realise he could create his own destiny. Who knew the 'monster' would be the one to open his eyes.

Who knew the lonely boy he had tried so hard to ignore would come to mean so much to him.

* * *

><p>"He left?" Neji found himself asking the group.<p>

"Yeah, so we need to try and bring him back." Shikamaru replied.

"He didn't leave, he was kidnapped!" Naruto yelled. "And we're wasting time, let's go!"

Neji found it hard to believe that the young Uchiha could be kidnapped. He wasn't that weak. But to humour his new-found friend, he agreed with him.

"Lets move then," He stated and the group headed off in search of the Uchiha.

After running for a long time, Shikamaru deemed it was time for a short break. It was dark and even if they continued, they wouldn't be able to see anything.

"They'll get too far ahead! We should continue!" Naruto shouted.

"I'm the team leader and I say we stop. We don't want to be ambushed by traps we can't see in the dark either," Shikamaru tried to rationalise.

After a few grunts, the blonde sat down farther away from them with a huff, showing clearly he disagreed.

"We'll catch up to them, don't worry," Neji tried to soothe his friend.

"Thanks." Naruto smiled.

Neji sat down next to Naruto. He wanted to hug the blonde and tell him everything was going to be okay. He hated seeing him upset. He deserved to be happy. He hated Sasuke for upsetting Naruto.

"You should smile more often," He commented offhandedly.

"Sakura-chan tells me not to smile so much because I look like an idiot," Naruto laughed, feeling shy suddenly.

"She lied." Neji stated and looked up to see the sky. The moon was hidden behind a small cloud but the stars were still bright.

"A shooting star…" Naruto pointed out.

Neji nodded. He had seen it too this time.

"I wish for you to always smile and be happy,"

"Hey! You said saying wishes out loud wouldn't make them come true!" Naruto argued, not realising what Neji had wished for.

"Your wish came true didn't it. Maybe the adults lied to us too."

"What wish came true?" Naruto asked, confused.

"You wished for people to stop calling you a monster and to love you… it came true didn't it?"

"Yeah… But I don't think I'm loved yet,"

"Are you sure?" Neji looked at Naruto, waiting for an answer.

None came.

* * *

><p>They had failed at retrieving the Uchiha and for some reason, Neji almost felt relieved. Though he did almost die at the hands of one of the Sound Four.<p>

He was still in hospital and from what he heard, Naruto had been badly hurt too. Neji thought that if he ever came across the Uchiha, he would be sorry for causing such harm to his blonde friend. He had believed Naruto could bring him back to the light just like he had with Neji, however he never thought, out of all the enemies the boy had, Sasuke would be the one to hurt him.

He slowly got out of bed and made his way to Naruto's room. Peeking into the room, he saw the blonde laughing and smiling at a white-haired man. He didn't understand how one could fall to darkness with Naruto there. The smiles, the laughter, the kindness in those expressive blue eyes… Naruto was Neji's light and he was determined to never risk losing him again.

"When do we leave Jiraiya-Sensei?" Naruto asked, looking hopeful.

"Soon, I have a few things to complete first," was the reply the white-haired man gave.

Leaving? Naruto was leaving Konoha? Leaving him?

After a few minutes, the man left through the window and Neji made his presence known.

"Neji! What are you doing up? You should be in bed," Naruto said, and patted the spot next to him, motioning him to sit down.

"Heard you were leaving…"

"Yep! Jiraiya-Sensei is going to teach me new jutsus and take me travelling so I can get stronger!" Naruto explained, cheerfully.

"Don't forget about us during your travels," Neji smiled slightly.

"Ofcourse not! When I come back, we should duel,"

"Never change Naruto,"

"Huh?"

"You might not know it but you are the light to some people. So, never change,"

"I'm not that important yet. Wait till I become Hokage," Naruto rubbed the back of his head, clearly embarrassed.

"You are important," Neji insisted.

"Name one person who I'm important to," Naruto challenged.

"Me."

Neji left Naruto's room.

* * *

><p>"Have you heard! Naruto's back!" TenTen exclaimed.<p>

"My best friend has returned!" Lee yelled and ran off. Probably to find said best friend.

"I heard he looks so handsome now," Ino added and the girls started giggling.

"He's still the same old pervert Naruto," Sakura grimaced.

Naruto was back. It took a lot of effort for Neji to not bolt down the streets looking for him. He had missed the blonde haired Ninja and it had been too long since he last saw him.

"We should invite everyone to Yakiniku Q to celebrate his return." Choji suggested, his eyes glinting at the prospect of eating food.

Before long, everyone was at the restaurant, waiting for Naruto to arrive.

"Did you guys even tell him we were waiting here?" Shikamaru asked when Naruto didn't show up.

"He'll be here soon. Sakura said they needed to speak to the Hokage first," Ino explained.

Neji could feel his heart beating hard. Each time the door opened, he would jolt and think it was Naruto, only to be disappointed when it was other customers.

Finally after half an hour, the door opened to reveal a taller Naruto with different clothes.

Neji almost didn't recognise him had it not been for that heart warming smile and laughter.

"Did you guys miss me?!" He laughed out loud and sat next to the only empty spot, next to Neji.

"Is that even a question? It was so quiet and boring without your loud mouth" Lee answered.

"I don't know, I was enjoying the peace and quietness…" Shikamaru mumbled.

Neji didn't say anything. Feeling the blonde next to him, happy and safe was all that mattered to him. He'd had one too many dreams where the dead body of his friend had arrived instead of this happy version.

Once they had all had their meal, the team split up to make their way to their respectful homes.

Neji stayed back with Naruto.

"Isn't the Hyuuga compound the other way?" He asked when he noticed Neji following him.

"It is."

"Then why-"

"Naruto," Neji cut him off, "I'm glad you came home,"

"I'm glad to have returned too. Never thought I'd miss this place," He laughed. Neji could never tire of hearing that laugh.

"Don't leave again."

"wha-"

"Don't leave me,"

"Neji, are you okay?" Naruto looked confused.

"Forget it," Neji said and walked away.

He couldn't believe what he was saying. He didn't even know what he meant by that. He just didn't want to see the blonde leave again. While Naruto was gone, it had felt like his world had gotten swallowed up by darkness. He didn't want that to happen again but that didn't excuse him from saying everything that was on his mind. He was a Hyuuga, he always thought he had more self-control than that.

He made his way to the Graveyard. He needed to speak with his father. He needed to sort out these feelings he was having. Not that a stone could be any help…

Once he found the stone he was looking for, he sat in front of it and took a deep breath. He didn't need to speak out loud to convey his feelings but now and then, a few questions would slip out.

"Why am I feeling like this,"

"Wish you were here,"

"I'm so lost"

"I have no one to talk to."

He sat there for almost an hour, trying to get his feelings sorted.

After staring at the stone for another hard long minute, he got up and made his way home. He looked up at the Hokage monument and envisioned Naruto's face carved on it. He knew for sure that when that time came, the world would be a better and peaceful place.

"Oi Neji!" Someone yelled, startling him out of his musings.

"Naruto?" Neji looked surprised. He had thought the boy would head home once he left.

"What did you mean by what you said back there?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, it's late and I need to rest. I have a mission tomorrow," He lied. He didn't have a mission having come back from one that day, but he'd say anything to get the blonde off his back.

"You asked me not to leave you? Why? Why did you say that?" Naruto begged.

"Because you're a good friend that I don't want to lose. Now good night." Neji replied and started walking towards the direction of his house.

Naruto ran up to him and hugged him from behind causing Neji to stumble and stop.

"No one cares about me that much, why do you care?" Naruto asked, his voice muffled from his face pressing against Neji's back.

Sighing, he pulled away from the blonde and turned towards him. There would be no more hiding, not that he was doing a good job with the hiding anyway.

"Because I love you,"

"I thought you hated me," Naruto looked down.

"At the start, when I was young, I didn't understand many things. I didn't hate you but I didn't understand why you were the way you are. I realised after our fight that destiny is nothing and you told me to create my own destiny. You told me to follow my heart and I did." Neji blushed at having told his most important secrets.

"I- I like you too," Naruto confessed, "I always saw you at the park and you never joined in with the teasing. Somehow you were always there, in the background, but always there. You risked your life to save my friend when you could have refused, you-"

Neji interrupted him with a kiss on his lips.

"I would gladly give my life if it meant saving yours," He said after pulling away.

"Idiot! Don't say that!," Naruto lightly hit him on the shoulder and Neji pulled him back in for a second kiss.

He could get used to this, Neji smiled.

* * *

><p>They went on many dates and tried to keep it a secret from the rest of the gang. Deep down Neji knew the Hyuuga clan would not be happy with him having Naruto as a lover-not that they had done anything, yet. He didn't want anything to happen to Naruto because of him and his name.<p>

There were days where they pretended to go for a rematch at one of the training grounds to escape their friends. Sometimes they sat on the Hokage monument had a picnic or in Naruto's case, had Ramen. Everything was perfect.

Of course, perfection did not last and one day Naruto received the news of his Godfather's death.

When Neji heard, he ran to find Naruto, checking all the sites his blond could have gone to hide, only to find him sitting with Iruka-sensei.

He decided to not interrupt them, knowing that the teacher could do better in comforting Naruto than himself. Turning around, he headed straight to Naruto's house and thought it'd be better to wait for him there.

Opening the door, the first thing Neji noticed was the messy state the house was in. Shaking his head, he quickly got to work, cleaning every part of the house. There were so many Ramen cups everywhere, he wondered how Naruto didn't get lost among them.

By the time he had finished, a few hours had passed and he was feeling very tired. At least the house looked liveable now.

He walked into Naruto's room and thought a short nap wouldn't hurt anybody. It wouldn't be the first time he would be sleeping in his boyfriend's bed, having spent a few nights over when they couldn't spend time outside.

It was a while later he felt something move the bed.

"Naruto?" Neji asked, knowing the answer already.

"Yeah it's me."

"Are you okay? I heard-" Neji faced Naruto, wide awake.

"Hold me, please" Naruto hugged him and nuzzled his neck.

Neji hugged him back and they stayed like that till Neji's legs started to fall asleep.

"Come on lets lie down," He said wrapped his arms around him comfortably.

Naruto turned and faced Neji, "I'm scared Neji," he whispered, "I'm scared of losing anyone else, of losing you,"

"I'll always be by your side," He gave a quick peck to his blonde's lips and pulled away.

However Naruto wanted none of that. He quickly straddled Neji and continued to kiss him for all it was worth. He started unbuttoning Neji's shirt when Neji stopped him.

"Naruto, I don't think this is right, you're grieving and you'll regret this in the morning," He panted, still dazed from the kiss he received.

"No I won't regret it, I need to feel you Neji," Naruto begged, "Unless, you don't want me," He added suddenly, looking terrified that he had been rejected.

Not wanting Naruto doubting his feelings for him, Neji pulled him back down and pulled off Naruto's t-shirt. Once they were half-naked, Neji moved from under Naruto and pushed him down. He slowly started kissing every inch of Naruto's skin he could reach. He licked and gently bit the blonde's neck causing him to moan and buck his hips against Neji.

Moving slowly, he licked Naruto's left nipple, then the right, moving lower as he went, making Naruto writhe beneath him. He stopped once he reached the pants, not quite sure if he should continue. He didn't want his love to regret anything in the morning.

He looked up into Naruto's eyes and once he got the nod of confirmation, he continued to divest him of his pants.

Though he had been ready for this moment for a while, Neji was still a nervous wreck. He'd never done this before and he was worried he was going to hurt Naruto or turn him off completely. Trying to push aside his fears, he freed Naruto's cock from its confines and removed the pants completely.

"You're not wearing any underwear," He smirked.

"Sh-shut up!" Naruto blushed.

Neji chuckled and lowered himself again before giving a tentative lick. Hearing Naruto moan and twitch, he became bolder and tried taking his whole cock into his mouth.

"Oh god," Naruto moaned.

Sucking harder and faster, Neji loved the sounds Naruto was making. He felt himself go harder at the responses he was hearing. At one point, Naruto had placed his hands on Neji's head, massaging it through his long hair as he continued his ministrations. Neji moaned at that which caused Naruto to buck up harshly. Had Neji not been holding Naruto down from the hips, he was sure he would have suffocated. Finding that his boyfriend was pleased, he moaned again, wanting Naruto to lose himself in sensations.

"Ne-Neji wait," Naruto panted.

Neji stopped once he noticed Naruto trying and failing to reach the bedside table.

"What's wrong?" He asked, "Is it too much? We can stop," He added, not wanting to force him into something he wasn't ready for.

"No! I'm just… I got these a while ago but I-I wasn't sure if we'd… but I'm glad I got them because now we can use them," Naruto rambled as he opened the drawer and took out a small bottle and a square packet.

"Oh," Neji felt flustered. He hadn't known Naruto wanted to go that far tonight. He had thought he would just do what he was doing to Naruto and stop afterwards.

"If you want to stop…"

"God no," Neji answered and took the items.

He poured some of the lube on his fingers to experiment what it would feel like. He was very new to this and he was sure Naruto was too.

Taking a deep breath he tried to calm himself and poured some more lube, hoping it was enough. No doubt in his mind that this would hurt his love.

He slowly moved back down and moved between Naruto's legs, gently inserting one finger first.

Naruto hissed and Neji saw him flinching away from the feeling. His arousal had gone down as well.

"Naruto, we can stop, I don't want to hurt you,"

"No! I'm okay, I'll be fine, just continue." He groaned out.

After slowly moving his first finger, he added his second and lastly his third, all the while checking on Naruto. He lowered his head back on to Naruto's cock and started licking and grazing it with his teeth, occasionally sucking it and tonguing his slit.

He felt the blonde hardening in his mouth as he pumped his fingers and gave a hard suck on his cock. With his free hand he massaged Naruto's upper thighs, trying to distract him from the pain.

Once he thought Naruto was as ready as he could be, he moved away and started to take off his own pants.

"I'll do it," Naruto said boldly and sat up got closer.

Neji watched from above as Naruto undid his pants and pulled down his underwear. He was already hard and hoped Naruto wouldn't try anything. He was worried he would come before he did anything with him.

Naruto reached for the condom packet and slowly slid it over Neji's cock.

Not expecting that to happen, all Neji could do was stare and blush as the blonde boy also rubbed lube gently over him. At that point, Neji's legs buckled and he almost cried out.

Smiling, Naruto laid back down and Neji got into position. Before he entered Naruto, he leaned over and kissed him fully on the lips and slowly started to push past his hole.

The blonde grabbed his shoulders and squeezed hard, nails digging in.

Naruto screamed.

"I'm pulling out, I don't want you in pain," Neji grunted painfully and moved to gently pull out without causing any more pain to himself or Naruto.

"NO! I'll get used to this, keep going!" Naruto shouted, tears falling down his eyes.

Neji was reluctant.

"Please, I need this, I need you,"

"Try to relax a bit," He offered and slowly he continued to thrust in.

Once he was fully seated he looked up at Naruto's face scrunched in pain. He dipped his head down kissed away the tears and whispered apologies into his ear.

Naruto couldn't do much except grunt in pain and tell him that he'd be okay and to just move already.

Gently and very, very slowly, Neji started to thrust in and out of Naruto. One of his hands moved to Naruto's wilted cock and tried to bring it back to hardness. He didn't want to be the only one getting all the pleasure.

After a certain thrust, Naruto moaned in what Neji thought was pain.

"Are you okay?!" He asked stopping suddenly.

"That, do that again" Naruto rasped in pain.

Confused, Neji started thrusting again and every so often Naruto would moan and ask him to do that again and to not stop.

Wanting to see Naruto in more pleasure, he upped the speed and pumped the blondes cock in time with his thrusts causing him to moan and writhe and thrash in pleasure and pain.

Feeling that they were both close to the end, Neji tightened his hold on Naruto and bowed his head to passionately make out with Naruto, missing his mouth multiple times in the process.

"N-Neji I'm Co-" Naruto couldn't finish his sentence and blissfully lost himself in a wave of satisfaction.

Neji felt Naruto tighten around him causing him to whimper and moan, following Naruto to bliss.

"I love you, Neji," The blonde whispered.

"Me too…"

* * *

><p>"What do you mean Konoha was attacked?!" Lee shouted at the frog in front of him.<p>

"Naruto…" Neji whispered as he ran off to Konoha, hoping the frog had been wrong and his sight had failed him.

Unfortunately his Byakugan hadn't failed him and when they arrived they saw how bad the destruction to Konoha was.

TenTen was the one to notice the injured Hinata and although Neji cared deeply for her, Naruto was on his mind. His top priority.

"Where's Naruto?!" He asked someone.

"He went to fight Nagato,"

"He can't go alone, I need to go to him!" He insisted.

"You'll only get in the way, have some trust in him," Shikamaru pointed out.

"But he's alone there! How can you say that, what if he get hurt or dies! How can you all be so calm?!" Neji yelled, losing his cool.

"Because he's Naruto and we trust he'll be back safely."

Slumping to the ground, Neji wished for Naruto's safe return. The stars were always there. Even when the sun was shining brightly.

Of course, Naruto arrived safely a few hours later on the back of Kakashi-Sensei. Neji, not caring for anything or anyone, he ran towards his lover and kissed him consequences be damned.

Naruto blushed, "Sorry I scared you," He whispered.

"I'm just glad you're here, don't do that again," he chided half-heartedly.

It seemed everyone missed the shared kiss between the lovers, except for Kakashi-Sensei busy with their reawakening loved ones.

That night, after the celebrations, they made love on top of the Hokage monument under the stars. They would think about the renovations and rebuilding once morning arrived.

* * *

><p>The best parts of his life flashed before his eyes. Neji would say he had lived a fulfilling life. He mused out loud about how he now understood why his father had died for his loved ones as he lost blood in Naruto arms. He knew if he died right here, on this battlefield, he would have no regrets. He had protected Naruto, just like how he had promised.<p>

"MEDIC!" Naruto shouted before yelling at him, "Why!? Why would you sacrifice your life just like that?!"

"Because I will gladly give my life if it meant saving yours,"

He wasn't important to the story, the hero needed to stay alive to continue and he was there, pushing the hero forward from the background. If there was one regret, it was not living a full life with his loved one and seeing Naruto grow old and wrinkly. If there was one regret, it was not seeing Naruto's face on the Hokage monument. If there was one regret… but there wasn't, because if he hadn't moved in front of the attack, Naruto would have died.

He could faintly hear Naruto yelling his name.

Looking at the sky one last time, he wished upon the stars that were always there.

"I wish I had more time."

* * *

><p>AN: Wow, my first complete fanfiction. This was waiting in my folder for months. I was going to end this on a happy note but I didn't want to ruin the ending. Anyway I hope you enjoyed it. I'm always open for constructive criticism especially with grammar and punctuation. Oh and sorry for all the lines, I didn't know how else to show the passage of time :(


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